Judge: city must pay Buonomo pension by Aug. 15

The city of Somerville must pay a disgraced former employee his retirement pension or it will be held in contempt, a Lowell District Court judge has ruled.

Judge James H. McGuinness Jr. reaffirmed on Wednesday a previous contempt order he issued against the city’s retirement board for continuing to withhold John Buonomo’s pension after he told the city to pay.

Buonomo, a retired Somerville alderman, is serving a two-and-a-half year sentence for stealing campaign donations and coins from copy machines while working as a Middlesex County register of probate.

McGuinness ordered the retirement board to give Buonomo his pension by Aug. 15 or be fined $100 every day that it does not pay, retroactive to Jan. 21, when it began withholding the funds, according to Buonomo’s attorney, Nicholas Poser of Boston.

Assistant City Solicitor Matthew J. Buckley could not be reached for comment. Buckley had asked McGuinness to reconsider his initial contempt ruling against the city, while Poser wanted the judge to issue a clearer order for immediate payment of the pension benefits, which is why Wednesday’s hearing was held.

McGuiness overturned the retirement board’s decision to withhold Buonomo’s pension after finding that Buonomo did not commit any crimes while he was contributing to his pension.

In July, Buckley asked the Supreme Judicial Court to review McGuinness’ initial decision against the retirement board. The motion is pending.